Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stake in Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in shares of Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE:BMI) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,660 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 729 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Badger Meter were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BMI. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Badger Meter by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,057,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 55,534 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,349,000 after buying an additional 20,965 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Badger Meter by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 128,651 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,974,000 after buying an additional 51,318 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 72.3% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 19,783 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Badger Meter by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 17,249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,214,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kimberly K. Stoll sold 1,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $224,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,505. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $189.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $180.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Badger Meter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Badger Meter from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Badger Meter presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.00.

Badger Meter Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of BMI opened at $205.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $209.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.47. Badger Meter, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.06 and a 12-month high of $230.76.

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $216.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.39 million. Badger Meter had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Badger Meter, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Badger Meter Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. This is a positive change from Badger Meter’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Badger Meter’s payout ratio is currently 39.19%.

About Badger Meter

Badger Meter, Inc manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. It offers mechanical or static water meters, and related radio and software technologies and services to municipal water utilities market. The company also provides flow instrumentation products, including meters, valves, and other sensing instruments to measure and control fluids going through a pipe or pipeline, including water, air, steam, and other liquids and gases to original equipment manufacturers as the primary flow measurement device within a product or system, as well as through manufacturers' representatives.